Paying off a car loan earlier than the loan term can actually put a ding on your credit score.
It seems like paying off your car loan early would be a good idea and improve your credit score but paying off a car loan early actually lowers your credit score by a few points.
This is because it raises your credit utilization ratio and the longer you have the loan out on the car you build up a payment history which actually helps to improve your credit score.
So if possible let the car loan run the full loan term to see a boost in your credit score.