When you use an auto loan to buy a car, your credit score will likely take a slight hit due to the increase in your debt load and the hard inquiry that results when the lender checks your credit. Thankfully, the credit score should only dip a few points temporarily.
In general, inquiries have a small impact; typically, a single inquiry can lower a FICO® Score by less than five points. The precise impact will vary based on each person's unique credit history. Inquiries can have a greater impact if consumers have few accounts or a short credit history.
Your car loan will typically be part of the calculation and can help your credit over time. The loan could continue to impact this as long as it stays on your credit report, which might be for up to 10 years after you pay off the loan.
Paying off a car loan early can save you money in interest in the long term. When you pay off a car loan early, you also reduce the total amount of money that you owe, which may boost your credit score. Some lenders charge prepayment penalties that can offset what you would save in interest.
In addition, when you pay off a car loan, your credit mix changes because you now have one less account in your name. This change can lead to a drop in your credit score.
Taking on a car loan will impact your credit score, but it's impossible to predict how much it'll change. That's because credit scores are based on several different factors, and auto loans can add both positive and negative information to the mix.
Making on-time payments to creditors, keeping your credit utilization low, having a long credit history, maintaining a good mix of credit types, and occasionally applying for new credit lines are the factors that can get you into the 800 credit score club.
The 7-year rule means that each negative remark remains on your report for 7 years (possibly more depending on the remark). However, after that period has ended, a remark will most probably fall off of your report.
A 700 credit score is considered a good score on the most common credit score range, which runs from 300 to 850. How does your score compare with others? You're within the good credit score range, which runs from 690 to 719.
What does a car dealership see when they run your credit? When they run your credit, they get a report and credit score from one or more credit reporting agencies. This will help them gauge the risk of granting you car financing.
As you make on-time loan payments, an auto loan will improve your credit score. Your score will increase as it satisfies all of the factors the contribute to a credit score, adding to your payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix.
A perfect FICO credit score is 850, but experts tell CNBC Select you don't need to hit that target to qualify for the best credit cards, loans or interest rates.
Back-end DTI focuses on all of your monthly debt, not just housing. This could include your mortgage as well as auto loans, student loans, personal loans and credit cards. It does not include daily expenses such as groceries, utilities or medical bills (in many cases).
What is the highest credit score possible? To start off: No, it's not possible to have a 900 credit score in the United States. In some countries that use other models, like Canada, people could have a score of 900. The current scoring models in the U.S. have a maximum of 850.
Membership in the 800+ credit score club is quite exclusive, with fewer than 1 in 6 people boasting a score that high, according to WalletHub data. Since so few people have such high scores, lenders don't split the 800+ credit score crowd into smaller groups that get separate offers.
In the short term, paying off your car loan early will impact your credit score — usually by dropping it a few points. Over the long term, it may rise because you've reduced your debt-to-income ratio. Whether to pay off a car loan early depends on your budget, interest rate and other financial goals.
Key takeaways
In general, most debt will fall off your credit report after seven years, but some types of debt can stay for up to 10 years or even indefinitely.
Overall, Credit Karma may produce a different result than one or more of the three major credit bureaus directly. The slight differences in calculations between FICO and VantageScore can lead to significant variances in credit scores, making Credit Karma less accurate than most may appreciate.
Extra payments made on your car loan usually go toward the principal balance, but you'll want to make sure. Some lenders might instead apply the extra money to future payments, including the interest, which is not what you want.
An 84-month auto loan can mean lower monthly payments than you'd get with a shorter-term loan. But having as long as seven years to pay off your car isn't necessarily a good idea. You can find a number of lenders that offer auto loans over an 84-month period — and some for even longer.