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Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Organization and Business, Inventory) (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 brand stores franchises
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Owned and operated new vehicle franchises | franchises	371
Number of stores | stores	260
Number of brands | brand	35
Percentage of new vehicle sales core brand vehicles	94.00%

X

- Definition

The number of new vehicle brands sold by the company's stores.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	an_NumberOfBrands
Namespace Prefix:	an_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Represents the number of owned and operated new vehicle franchises.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	an_OwnedAndOperatedNewVehicleFranchises
Namespace Prefix:	an_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

The percentage of new vehicles sold that represent the core brands of new vehicles sold by the company.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	an_PercentageOfNewVehicleSalesCoreBrands
Namespace Prefix:	an_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Represents the number of stores.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfStores
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
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