How long to keep auto loan before paying off for max benefit to Credit Score?

[DaWhole9]

Just got an auto loan and wanna know how long I should keep th eloan for max benefit to my credit score?  I was thinking maybe 6 months...but should I keep longer?  

[cashorcharge]

As you pay down the loan, you'll see increases in your score as the amount owed lowers.  If you pay it off in 6 months, that would seem pointless

[DaWhole9]

Pointless?   So i get a car loan. My score drops 25 points.  As i pay it back, it slowly rises.  Do i get MORE of a score increase if i pay it back in 5 years vs 1 years?  

[disdreamin]

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@DaWhole9 wrote:

Pointless?   So i get a car loan. My score drops 25 points.  As i pay it back, it slowly rises.  Do i get MORE of a score increase if i pay it back in 5 years vs 1 years?  

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I believe there are some thresholds for balance remaining that do bump scores, I think under 10% is the biggest bump. Unfortunatley, paying it off completely does not help your score and paying it off in 1 year or 5 doesn't much matter either from what I can tell. What seems to matter most (ie: your score will be boosted the most) is that your balance remaining to original loan amount is in the sweet spot between 0 and ~9%.

(For clarity, I'm not sure if it's aggregate of all loans or each loan that has that threshold. If someone can clarify it would be appreciated)