1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Accepted Solutions
Paying off your auto loan will not necessarily drop your FICO score. The account will remain on your credit PAID for the next 10 years. It will continue to positively affect your AAoA during that time. Your debt will be reduced which could have marginal postive FICO results. At this point it is really just GUESS-timates about whether you will realize a FICO decrease.
In addition, FICO is only one part of credit. The fact that you obtained an auto loan, paid it timely and then paid it off is a great credit reference. Credit reference is every bit as important as FICO. In fact, you can have a good FICO but thin CR and not be able to get much credit because of a lack of adequate credit references showing past performance and pay offs.
Do not obsess about the FICO to the point that you would consider maintaining indefinite debt for the sole purpose of a nominal gain in FICO points. I have read posts in which people actually buy or lease another vehicle, going into debt just to satisfy their belief of it benefiting FICO - don't make your financial decisions based upon FICO, make them based upon sound, conservative, responsible, long term strategy which serves your best interests. FICO will postively reflect those choices. Worry not if you have the most "tweaked" FICO, but that you have the most benefit of your money.
Good job on getting your car paid off. Hopefully it last many more years and you won't need to make payments to a finance company, you can make them to your SAVINGS ACCOUNT! 
Paying off your auto loan will not necessarily drop your FICO score. The account will remain on your credit PAID for the next 10 years. It will continue to positively affect your AAoA during that time. Your debt will be reduced which could have marginal postive FICO results. At this point it is really just GUESS-timates about whether you will realize a FICO decrease.
In addition, FICO is only one part of credit. The fact that you obtained an auto loan, paid it timely and then paid it off is a great credit reference. Credit reference is every bit as important as FICO. In fact, you can have a good FICO but thin CR and not be able to get much credit because of a lack of adequate credit references showing past performance and pay offs.
Do not obsess about the FICO to the point that you would consider maintaining indefinite debt for the sole purpose of a nominal gain in FICO points. I have read posts in which people actually buy or lease another vehicle, going into debt just to satisfy their belief of it benefiting FICO - don't make your financial decisions based upon FICO, make them based upon sound, conservative, responsible, long term strategy which serves your best interests. FICO will postively reflect those choices. Worry not if you have the most "tweaked" FICO, but that you have the most benefit of your money.
Good job on getting your car paid off. Hopefully it last many more years and you won't need to make payments to a finance company, you can make them to your SAVINGS ACCOUNT!
Great post txjohn. As usual you are right on the money.