Score took a dive!

[sunshine24]

So I've been working on rebuilding and making some good improvements over the past year +. I just paid off my auto loan and it reported today. My TU score (I didn't pull the others) took a 30 point dive. AH! Will it recover or am I going to have to buy another car (now at higher interest) to get my score back up?

[pizzadude]

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@sunshine24 wrote:

So I've been working on rebuilding and making some good improvements over the past year +. I just paid off my auto loan and it reported today. My TU score (I didn't pull the others) took a 30 point dive. AH! Will it recover or am I going to have to buy another car (now at higher interest) to get my score back up?

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Where did you pull your TU score ?

[sunshine24]

Here.

[pizzadude]

Did anything else change, like increased revolving utilization ?   It's unusual for a closed installment account to result in a large FICO score drop.

[tboy1977]

Don't get another auto loan unless you need the car!  Just weather the storm.  It's so easy to drop your score and so DIFFICULT to raise it.  I have an installment loan (secured) and will pay it off, either this week or early August,  never late.  I'm looking forward to a nice point drop because it will be paid and closed, even though it's never been late. 

[sunshine24]

No, nothing else changed at all. In fact I am waiting for a few other things to report, since I paid down a couple hundred extra dollars on a card too. My auto loan was the only installment loan that I have so that's the only thing I can think of. My plan was to pay off my car and then use the money I'd normally be spending on a car payment each month to pay down some balances. Had I know this, I'd have paid down the balances and kept the car loan going. I don't need another car but my goal is a mortgage next summer so do you think I should buy a low cost one anyway, just for the installment loan?

[tboy1977]

If you want an installment loan, just get a secured one at the credit union.  Use the proceeds to pay your card balances down.  But if you have auto and its never late and a good duration.......I say let it go.  Don't buy a car just for the credit score.

[sunshine24]

Thanks. It totally sucks to see the score I've worked so hard on go down overnight from doing a good thing! I am hoping that it recovers after a few months but we'll see.....