Score 690....Keep the car..??

[jJimmy11111]

Hey folks........it's been a while.....filed July 2005......bit messy, but worked out in the end......Discharged and case closed. Thanks for all the help and advice I received here.

: I took out a fairly large car loan May 2006.......with a big down-payment and high interest. The purpose was primarilly to help re-build my credit. I also got two credit cards which now have limits of $1100 and $750. I have never been late with any payments.

My credit score is now 690 from a low of 450....yes....they go that low.

I really don't need the car as I have another free and clear. I have a buyer for the car at a good price.

Purely from the perspective of continuing to improve my credit score.............is it advisable to sell the car, and therefore, not have the benefit of the monthly positive report, or will it help my credit score even further by selling and satisfying the loan..??

Also, one of my credit cards Applied bank $1100 is really high on fees. ( $10.95 per month and other large fees for such things as using it to make a Western Union payment )
Mindful of my good payment record with it .......is it possible for me to get another card at this stage with lower fees and bigger credit limit from someone else. I don't even want to attempt this unless I'm sure I would get it.......I believe it would be another inquiry.

Well.........sorry for the long post.......and once again.....thanks for all your help in the past........it was an amazing comfort to be able to discuss my situation with you folks at the time.

[AMISLANDER]

Hey folks........it's been a while.....filed July 2005......bit messy, but worked out in the end......Discharged and case closed. Thanks for all the help and advice I received here.

: I took out a fairly large car loan May 2006.......with a big down-payment and high interest. The purpose was primarilly to help re-build my credit. I also got two credit cards which now have limits of $1100 and $750. I have never been late with any payments.

My credit score is now 690 from a low of 450....yes....they go that low.

I really don't need the car as I have another free and clear. I have a buyer for the car at a good price.

Purely from the perspective of continuing to improve my credit score.............is it advisable to sell the car, and therefore, not have the benefit of the monthly positive report, or will it help my credit score even further by selling and satisfying the loan..??

Also, one of my credit cards Applied bank $1100 is really high on fees. ( $10.95 per month and other large fees for such things as using it to make a Western Union payment )
Mindful of my good payment record with it .......is it possible for me to get another card at this stage with lower fees and bigger credit limit from someone else. I don't even want to attempt this unless I'm sure I would get it.......I believe it would be another inquiry.

Well.........sorry for the long post.......and once again.....thanks for all your help in the past........it was an amazing comfort to be able to discuss my situation with you folks at the time.

I'm not sure about the car, but, you should be getting better cards with better rates, i.e: see next paragraph in relation to my situation:
I filed in 2005 and was discharged 2007 January. I have three cc's: Hooters (my first card at 29% & $72/annual fee that I am closing out either this month, or next month), HSBC, and Juniper. HSBC is at 16% & Juniper at 21%....I will not be using the Juniper any more either....I just wanted to spread my cards out a bit, make over the minimum (at least $100/per card per month) and rebuild that old credit....it's worked...I received an offer from WAMU last week for 0% for a year & transfered almost full balance from HSBC...and after one year the WaMu is 9.9%....not too bad for this time period from 2005 to 2008 and not having a credit card since 2001!

Just don't get in over your head, especially now with the recession in effect.

[CindyLou]

Do not keep a car you do not need for the purposes of buiding credit! there are other ways to build credit! If you have a buyer for the car, take it and move on!

[jJimmy11111]

..?

Thanks for the advice.........do you happen to have an answer to the question I asked....??

[CindyLou]

try juniper and wamu cards. both are very bk friendly and very good cards!

[jJimmy11111]

Purely from the perspective of continuing to improve my credit score.............is it advisable to sell the car, and therefore, not have the benefit of the monthly positive report, or will it help my credit score even further by selling and satisfying the loan..??



Does anyone have an opinion on this...........??
Just an answer/opinion on this would be appreciated.
Thanks

[CindyLou]

technically keeping the car would build your score, but again doing so would be counter productive! Paying a huge car payment just to improve your credit score does not make sense. The purpose od improving a credit score is to get better interest rates and save money. If you are spending money on a car you don't need then its all for nothing, thus my original answer to your post. Don't keep the car just to improve your score. That's my advice and I think it answers your original question.

[jJimmy11111]

Thanks

Will it bring my score down if I sell the car and satisy the loan..?
Or......will the score go up for having sold the car and satisfying the loan...?

[CindyLou]

wow....I keep saying it....keeping the car would help the credit score (because it is an aging acct that is creating a credit history)

but it then I state my opinion that it would be counter productive to raise a credit score at a cost of paying for a car that you don't need.

It seems you don't value my opinion.

Good luck in your journey.

[jJimmy11111]

Will it bring my score down if I sell the car and satisy the loan..?
Or......will the score go up for having sold the car and satisfying the loan...?

Cindy.......I appreciate your time......but you really have not addressed the specific question.............sorry for labouring the point.........but the answers you gave were not relevent to the question I asked.
Thanks again

[chpxiii]

Jimmy, she did answer your question. You just don't understand the answer.

[jJimmy11111]

aggghhhhhhhh

Jimmy, she did answer your question. You just don't understand the answer.

Once again, I hate to labour this point...........I assure you I can read and understand.......

This is what I asked...." is it advisable to sell the car, and therefore, not have the benefit of the monthly positive report, or will it help my credit score even further by selling and satisfying the loan..??"

Note the word "sell" ,,, " is it advisable to sell he car "

These are the answers....
1. " keeping the car would build your score,"
2. "Don't keep the car just to improve your score."
3. "wow....I keep saying it....keeping the car would help the credit score"

I am aware of the effects on my credit score from keeping the car.

My question is...will SELLING it have the effect of LOWERING the score or will SELLING it help my score because I satisy the loan.

Sorry if I appear rude.....but I am getting an answer to a totally different question.

Thanks again.


.

[CindyLou]

the thing is, selling it will do neither...it will not lower it nor will it help it. On the other hand keeping it could raise it because it is an open positice acct.

The point I was trying to make is that it should all really be irrelevant because the decision in this case should be based on the need not the effect on the score.

you're not being rude ........i was just frustrated saying the same thing over and over. hope this helps.

[I want out]

is it advisable to sell the car, and therefore, not have the benefit of the monthly positive report, or will it help my credit score even further by selling and satisfying the loan..??

You'll never get a straight answer on this.

Why? Because Fair & Isaacs have a vested interest in keeping their "secret recipe" a secret. So, the credit score thing is a game of smoke and mirrors. If it was straightforward, they wouldn't really have a product to sell.

That said, I have been told a number of times that credit mix IS a factor in determining your score. So, if you only have credit card debt, closing that car loan out may cause a dip- but a definitive answer will only be discovered if you sell the car. AND... just because it has a positive, or negative, or no effect at all does NOT mean it will have the same effect on someone else's score, because borrowers are classified by their profile.

In any event, if you do see a drop in your score, it will likely be temporary.

I guess the question is, why are you concerned about your score? What difference does it make to you if you're at 650 or 675 or 690 at this point?

[krielly]

One benefit I DO see would be that this will lower your debt to income ratio if you do sell the car, and satisfy the loan. Although it may not affect your score much, I would suspect it would possibly make you look more favorable to other creditors who might offer you better rates............saving you $ in the long run.

K