 TITLE: Does Paying Off a Car Loan Early Hurt Your Credit? CONTENT: Whenever you make a major change to your credit history—including paying off a loan—your credit score may drop slightly. If you don't have any negative issues in your credit history, this drop should be temporary; your credit scores will rise again in a few months. After it's paid off and the account is closed, your car loan will remain on your credit report for up to 10 years, and as long as you always made your payments on time, the loan will continue to have a positive effect on your credit history.\nSo what's the problem with paying off your car loan early? Even though closed accounts still affect your credit score, open positive credit accounts have more of an impact than closed ones. That's because open accounts show lenders how well you're managing your credit right now—not in the past.\nIf you're trying to establish credit or improve your credit score, keeping a car loan open could be more helpful than paying it off. For example, if you have a thin credit file (meaning you only have a few credit accounts), a car loan will add to the number of accounts you have, helping to build your credit history. A car loan also helps to improve your credit mix by diversifying the types of credit you have. Having both revolving credit (such as credit cards that allow you to carry a balance) and installment credit (loans with a fixed monthly payment) can improve your credit mix, which can help boost your credit score. END