strategy on paying down a credit builder loan

[chbartel]

I know there is debate on whether having one helps your score or not, but for $500 I throw into it, I want to see for myself the results....I already have 6 credit cards and a 6 year old home mortgage, so I am covered on that part of "credit mix"..

question:  how does your credit score get affected by current loan amount vs.  amount loaned? For example, I have $500 credit builder loan, but right away the balance is $500. Should I pay that down immediately by maybe $200 or so and then my balance to loan amount ratio looks better or does it matter?

Same question about a car loan. I am looking to get a car loan, possibly in the $40k-50k range on a used vehicle.  Income wise no problem whether it's $40k or $50k.  I have cash to pay $20k out of pocket....should I get a $50k loan and then immediately pay off $20k of the loan, or just go with a $30k loan to start with?  Would having the $30k out of $50k loan balance look better on credit report?

[Anonymous]

AFAIK, FICO does not factor in the amount or the balance of the installment loan, only the fact that its there and the payment history on it. The consensus seems to be that a $500 secured loan, is as beneficial as a 50K auto loan for FICO scoring. The caveat here is that while you're in the same position scorewise, your DTI as far as a mortgage app goes is certainly not the same