Paying off a financed car....

[poisonivory]

When you finish your last payment of a finance'd vehicle, how long does it take for them to send you the title? Do you have to hound them for it, or are most banks pretty good about sending it out?

I never financed a car before this one, and my last Payment is May so I just want to cover my bases. I also plan to get rid of it within the next 6-7 months.

[lagos]

They will mail it to you within a week or so. You can also call them.

[poisonivory]

a week? damn...MUCHHH better than I expected. I was expecting a few months, which was my main reason for asking. Because I will upgrading after my wedding in September.

[lagos]

They usually stay on top of that stuff pretty well. You should probably call them though and make sure, but mine came quickly.

[poisonivory]

i planned on going and making my last payment in person at the bank to make sure they hop on it. I'll def call to follow-up though.

[arkadyzv]

Some places take longer. I just called about bossman's Infiniti QX56. Payoff was sent in mid February, they processed it late February. But it wasn't sent out until yesterday so he will probably get his next week. So yeah in some cases it make take up to a month.

[poisonivory]

one week, few weeks...all the same. As long as i'm not going to have to chase them for months.

even dumber question....i haven't been late on a single payment ever, so my credit score is pretty decent. Does paying off a loan in total give you any kind of a boost in credit? any better than your score is from simply maintaining proper/timely payments?

the only other loans i ever had are my college loans, which will be going for quite some time yet..haha

[Tires2theSky]

after your last payment, i would just call and ask about it it won't hurt instead of just sittin around waiting for it

[ThePrimerSuspect]

i paid my car off on a friday and had the title monday. depends on what bank it is

[registered]

Well. first of all. congrats on paying off your car. I'm still financing a motorcycle and I regret not putting any down payment on it when I bought it so now I'm paying a lot more for monthly payments.

[4N2NR]

Does paying off a loan in total give you any kind of a boost in credit? any better than your score is from simply maintaining proper/timely payments?


It doesn't hurt that's for sure. According to BankRate.com a credit score is based on:

1. How you pay your bills (35 percent of the score)
The most important factor is how you've paid your bills in the past, placing the most emphasis on recent activity. Paying all your bills on time is good. Paying them late on a consistent basis is bad. Having accounts that were sent to collections is worse. Declaring bankruptcy is worst.

2. Amount of money you owe and the amount of available credit (30 percent)
The second most important area is your outstanding debt -- how much money you owe on credit cards, car loans, mortgages, home equity lines, etc. Also considered is the total amount of credit you have available. If you have 10 credit cards that each have $10,000 credit limits, that's $100,000 of available credit. Statistically, people who have a lot of credit available tend to use it, which makes them a less attractive credit risk.

3. Length of credit history (15 percent)
The third factor is the length of your credit history. The longer you've had credit -- particularly if it's with the same credit issuers -- the more points you get.

4. Mix of credit (10 percent)
The best scores will have a mix of both revolving credit, such as credit cards, and installment credit, such as mortgages and car loans. "Statistically, consumers with a richer variety of experiences are better credit risks," Watts says. "They know how to handle money."

5. New credit applications (10 percent)
The final category is your interest in new credit -- how many credit applications you're filling out. The model compensates for people who are rate shopping for the best mortgage or car loan rates. The only time shopping really hurts your score, Watts says, is when you have previous recent credit stumbles, such as late payments or bills sent to collections.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/credit-scoring/20031104a1.asp