Does Paying more each month on my car payment help my score?

[nicktheman]

I was thinking about paying $100-200 more a month on my car loan.  Would this improve my credit scores or does this not affect them?

[smallfry]

No effect but the lender will like you. 

[Anonymous]

Pay the extra 100-200 on any credit card balances you have and your score will def. go up if you have balances.

[nicktheman]

Yeah, my credit cards I have been keeping at 9% utilization which I hear is the best # for score increases.  I still find myself with extra money so I figured I would start paying off some other debt.

[Lel]

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nicktheman wrote:
Yeah, my credit cards I have been keeping at 9% utilization which I hear is the best # for score increases.  I still find myself with extra money so I figured I would start paying off some other debt.

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Utilization at 9% or below will get you the best scores.  You don't have to aim specifically for 9%.  If anything, you might accidentally go to 10%.

Also, you don't have to carry a balance at 9% - you can use your cards up to 9% each, and then pay in full when you receive the statement.  You just need your credit card use to report.  If you are actually carrying balances on your credit card, then you should pay them down if the interest rate is higher than your car note. 

[JoeBJay20]

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@nicktheman wrote:
Yeah, my credit cards I have been keeping at 9% utilization which I hear is the best # for score increases.  I still find myself with extra money so I figured I would start paying off some other debt.

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If you haven't already, I would used that extra money to build up 3 months' salary worth of savings before using it to pay down bills. 

[Anonymous]

Paying off your car loan faster does help your credit score but only a tiny bit and you won't see a bump from month to month.  Your on-time payment history helps more than an extra 100-200 dollars.  Obviously, at the extremes a brand new loan that you owe 98% on looks worse then an old car loan that you owe only 10% on.   

However, small increments (100 dollar increments) will not immediately help.  Overtime that 100 dollars will bring up your score.  I agree with the other posters.  You should maximize all other options before focusing on that car loan.  

I have had lots of installment loans on my report and paying them off does help it is just a long road to take.