If you trade in your car will your credit score improve and how much?

Absolutely NOT on its own but there are many factors to consider: Trading your car for a new vehicle will payoff the balance to the lender of the old car. This could raise your credit score in the short run because your debt to income will change. Now the type of credit you have is very important and you need at least two installment loans for maximum credit score elevation. Keep in mind that as long as the new vehicle won't cause your debt to income ratio to rise too much or the monthly payments are much higher than your old vehicle, could have a temporary affect on your credit score but not much. To answer your question, for the most part NO! Now if you have been late paying that car loan recently, those payments will stay on your credit and could affect your score for at least two years. If you were on time, it should not affect your score and could raise it a bit.