Paying off collections could increase scores from the latest credit scoring models, but if your lender uses an older version, your score might not change. Regardless of whether it will raise your score quickly, paying off collection accounts is usually a good idea.
Its possible that paying off a collection account will increase your credit score, but that largely depends on the version of the software used to calculate the score.
Buying a car is an exciting milestone. However, if you have outstanding debts or collections on your credit report, you may be wondering if you should pay them off first before taking on a auto loan. Paying off collections can help improve your credit score and get you better rates, but it also requires time and money. Here’s what you need to know about paying off collections before buying a car.
How Collections Impact Your Credit Score
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Collections hurt your credit score more than almost any other factor. Just a single collections account can drop your score by over 100 points.
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Collections stay on your report for 7 years. Even if you pay off the debt, it will continue to show as a derogatory mark.
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Having collections drags down your overall credit utilization This measures how much of your available credit you’re using The lower the better.
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Lenders view applicants with collections as higher risk, You may get denied for financing or get stuck with a high interest rate
So paying down collections accounts can give your score an almost immediate boost while also improving your chances of getting approved for an auto loan.
Should You Pay Off Collections Before Buying?
Paying off collections before buying a car mainly comes down to:
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How much you owe – The more past-due accounts you have, the bigger impact on your credit and loan options. If it’s a small collection under $500, it may not move the needle much.
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Your time frame for buying – If you need a car ASAP, focus on finding a lender who will approve you as-is. But if you have 6 months or more, consider paying down some collections first.
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Your budget – Do you have extra money each month to put toward collections? Can you save up a lump sum? Make sure it doesn’t leave you cash-strapped.
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Available credit – Paying collections can raise your credit utilization ratio. But if you have low overall limits, it may not help enough.
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Interest savings – Eliminating collections before applying for a car loan can mean paying 1-4% less interest. That’s $500+ over the loan term.
Strategic Ways to Pay Off Collections
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Debt avalanche – Pay off accounts with the highest interest rates first. This saves the most money overall.
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Debt snowball – Pay off your smallest collections balances first. This gives you quick wins.
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Goodwill letters – Ask creditors to remove paid collections from your credit reports as a goodwill gesture.
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Lump-sum payment – Take money from tax refunds, bonuses or inheritance and make one big payment.
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Negotiate settlements – Work out payoff deals for less than the full balance. Get any agreement in writing first.
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Credit counseling – Non-profit agencies can help consolidate debt into one payment and negotiate with creditors.
Alternatives if You Can’t Pay Off Collections
If paying off old debts before buying a car isn’t feasible, here are some other options to boost your auto loan chances:
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Apply with subprime lenders who work with bad credit applicants. Be prepared for higher rates.
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Find a co-signer with good credit to share responsibility for the loan. This improves your chances of approval.
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Put down a larger down payment, like 20%. This convinces lenders you’re financially committed.
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Shop around for lenders who put more weight on your recent payments than past collections.
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Consider buying from a buy-here-pay-here (BHPH) dealer for in-house financing but higher prices.
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Build credit with a secured card to offset collections and show positive payment activity.
When Paying Off Collections Before Buying Is Crucial
In certain situations, it becomes especially important to deal with collections before taking on more debt with a car purchase:
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Your credit score is under 600 because of multiple unpaid collections – New financing will be very difficult and expensive at this level.
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You expect to apply for a large car loan – Lenders will be more hesitant to approve higher-dollar loans if you have outstanding bad debts.
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You’re close to maxing out your credit card limits – This signals risk so paying down debts to lower your utilization is wise.
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You plan to trade in your old car – Negative equity from your trade-in followed by new financing can put you underwater on the new loan.
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You know collections are from errors – Settling legitimate disputes can improve your score and qualifying chances substantially.
Pay Off Collections Strategically
The decision to pay off collections before buying a car is a very personal one based on your financial situation. Paying off all outstanding debts certainly puts you in the best position for new credit applications. But even eliminating one or two past-due accounts can benefit your score and improve auto financing options. The key is being strategic with a payoff plan that maximizes results for your budget and time frame.
Will Your Credit Score Improve if You Pay Off All of Your Collections?
Depending on the nature of the collection account and the model used to calculate your score, paying off a collection account could cause your score to increaseâor it could have no effect at all on your score.
Paying off collection accounts can raise credit scores calculated using FICO® Score 9 and 10 and VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0, but it wont have any effect on scores produced by older FICO scoring models.
That includes the many lenders who use FICO® Score 8 and, at least for now, issuers of mortgages known as conforming loans, which meet requirements for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These government-sponsored enterprises, which purchase the majority of U.S. mortgage loans from the lenders that issue them, currently require lenders to report applicants credit scores using “classic FICO” models that predate FICO® Score 8. All that will soon change, however.
In 2022, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)âthe regulator that sets lending guidelines for Fannie Mae and Freddie Macâannounced that lenders issuing conforming loans must use FICO® Score 10 T and VantageScore 4.0 to evaluate mortgage applicants. (FICO® Score 10 T is a variant of FICO® Score 10 that, like VantageScore 4.0, can use more nuanced “trended data” compiled at the national bureaus.) The conversion to the new credit scoring requirements is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025. Among the many implications of the change is the potential for paid collections to help credit scores in the mortgage application review process.
How Do Collections Affect Your Credit?
Collections fall under payment history, the biggest factor in your FICO® ScoreΠ10 T and VantageScore® 4.0 calculation, responsible for about 35% of your score. Consumers with collections on their credit reports may have lower credit scores than consumers who have no collections.
Historically, a collection account for an amount greater than $100, whether paid or unpaid, would have an impact on your credit score for up to seven years from the first missed payment that led to the account being turned over to collections.
The impact of collections on credit scores has shifted in recent years, however, and depends in part on the nature of the debt and the version of the credit scoring model a lender uses. Here are some of the factors that influence the effect of collections on scores:
- The national consumer credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) no longer list paid medical collections or unpaid collections for medical debts of less than $500 on your credit reports, so they cannot affect any credit score in any way.
- FICO® Scores 9 and 10, the most recently introduced versions of the FICO® Score, ignore all paid collections and reduce scores less when an unpaid collection is for a medical bill than when its for another type of debt. FICO® Score 8, the most widely used version, does not make this distinction, and it lowers scores if a collection account for a debt of $100 or more appears on your credit report, whether its paid or unpaid.
- VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0, the most recent versions of scoring software from the national credit bureaus joint score-development venture, ignore all paid collections and all medical collections, whether paid or unpaid. As a result, those accounts will not affect your VantageScore credit score. Unpaid non-medical collections accounts can hurt your VantageScore credit scores, however.
Paying Collections – Dave Ramsey Rant
FAQ
What is the 777 rule with debt collectors?
Is it better to pay off collections or wait?
It’s better to pay down, pay off, your bill before it gets to collections. But if you’ve waited till then and you receive a court document saying the company is suing you then make your appearance and pay it off. Your late payments will already be on your credit report and those won’t erase.
Do collections affect getting a car?
It will affect your ability to get more car loans. Loan charge-offs may force you to seek bad-credit auto loans with higher interest rates, so resolve the debt directly if you can.
Will credit score increase after paying off collections?