the faster you pay off a loan, the better your credit will be to a certain extent. Dont pay it off in a month, but 6- 18 months will improve your credit tremendously. Any extra money you throw towards the loan every month goes directly towards principle (the actual car) so eventually you lower the payment of the car because the inerest (10.9 in your case) or percentage of the principle is obviously lower. If you were to keep paying 100 dollars extra a month, you would end up paying it approximately 6 months early. Like wise if you were able to pay 800 a month, you would pay it off in about 3 years which is half the term you agrred on and as long as it is simple interest, that would be the ideal way to build your credit. The problem most people run into is they pay the minimum and decide to trade in three years and get stuck with negative equity. Good luck and your on the right path. If you seriously want to pay it off early throw everything towards it....