fico scoring methods

[Anonymous]

last month I paid my vehicle off in it's entirety (I omnly owed 2 more payments), so there is now a zero balance, there are no late payments, everything was paid as agreed and it lowered my score by 12 points, how and why?

[aav]

The auto loan is an installment loan. Part of your credit rating involves having a mix of credit including installment loans.. Mortgage, student loan, other loans. But having none could drop your score - all things considered. 

[HiLine]

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Why-paying-off-your-loan-is-bad-for-your-...