Hi.

I bought a Lincoln MKZ with 2.99% interest rate in August 2014. At this point my credit score was around 730... now it is 800

That being said, I'm five months ahead of my payments and currently owe $13,545

Is it worth trying to find an interest rate lower then 2.9% or is it just better to keep it how it is? I could pay off the car easily on the spot.. but I like having some payments to keep my credit going.





This post was edited by Alarms on May 14 2017 09:17pm

Pretty sure this a dumb question m8

the amount you would save would be minimal. If you actually want to save money.........pay it off..........Or if you want to keep the payments going, make more additional principal payments.

refinance is never an economical option

2.9 is a good spot to be at. I would just make the payments. this will raise your credit score. just paid off a loan a year ahead and it droped my score. the reason behind that is. its better to be in dept. when u pay off a loan you loose that line or credit per say. people who only pay in cash and never a loan will not have a good score next to the person who gets loans and is broke while paying for it.

Talk to the bank. Get another credit card through them. See what they recommend if you pay it off a bit early.

I'm thinking of increasing it to pay it off just a year early. I'm 23. This car is the only thing I own.

my revenue/expense ratio is almost 8:1... because of where I work & no bills.



Why is that?



I feel like if I pay it off or refinance it, my credit will drop. I don't own alot of property because i work as a deployed contractor, single, no kids and almost no bills. This car is seriously the only thing i really own.



I already own two credit cards with $10,000 limit. They both have a balance of like $500 which my interest rate is just 4%, I just keep the balance under $500.




//

I appreciate the feedback.

Keep a balance on one card and drop the limit if you don't need 2x10000, make them both 5000 or only keep one card at 5000-10000. Use the card for all your purchases, and then make bi weekly or monthly payments on the card.

Keep your car payment as is because it's helping you build a credit history. Even cell phone and utilities etc show up on your report.

You should always increase your credit card limits as much as possible. If your balance stays the same and you increase your credit limit you have decreased your credit utilization rate and increased your available credit. Both of those actions show restraint and it's the quickest way to make a big jump in score if you have a short credit history. A few years back I added a card that doubled my available credit and jumped from a 750 to a 770 when it hit my report.

Also, FYI, you don't have to maintain a balance on your cards beyond whatever the company requires to keep the account open. It won't hurt you to pay them off every month. If you choose to leave a balance the combined total of all card balances need only be 1% of your available credit.

paying off your car loan will SLIGHTLY lower your credit score, but it's literally nothing to worry about it.


If you're even the least bit financially responsible, which it sounds like you are, your credit score will be fine for life.


i'm 28, I have used credit cards for 95% of my purchases for the last 10 years, I have 760+ fico, have had 1 car loan paid 3 years early, and they still tell me credit history is low. I've probably charged at least 75k on my cards and I don't carry huge balances ever.



You don't have anything to worry about. I don't know where you live, or what your living situation is, but i would recommend saving cash and buying a house.
You live probably within an hour from me, or even 10 minutes. New Hampshire real estate is climbing, but still pretty affordable.

This post was edited by stupidkid282 on May 23 2017 08:04pm