<prompt> Human: I bought a vehicle in which put 15,000 down and financed 7,500 as I was told this would help my credit by showing payment history. I had a score of about 740 when I took this loan through the auto manufacturer. I took the loan for 2.9 over 3 years. I have paid this every month for the past 14 months. However, I have a lump of cash in which I can pay off the balance. Is paying this every month and holding a balance actually helping my credit?  <response>: Not in any significant manner, no.Though there is another reason you might want to avoid paying it off. With that kind of super low interest rate, Id rather invest the spare cash instead of getting only 2.9 returns on your loan pay down. 