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Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Organization and Business, Inventory) (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020 store franchises brand
Product Information [Line Items]
Owned and operated new vehicle franchises | franchises	315
Number of brands | brand	32
Percentage of new vehicle sales from core brands (percent)	89.00%
Dealerships [Member]
Product Information [Line Items]
Number of stores	230
Collision Center [Member]
Product Information [Line Items]
Number of stores	74
AutoNation USA Stores [Member]
Product Information [Line Items]
Number of stores	5
Automotive Auction Operations [Member]
Product Information [Line Items]
Number of stores	4
Parts Distribution Centers [Member]
Product Information [Line Items]
Number of stores	3

X

- Definition

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

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	an_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
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X

- Definition

Represents the number of owned and operated new vehicle franchises.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	an_
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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

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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

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Details

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X

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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X

- Details

Name:	srt_ConsolidatedEntitiesAxis=an_AutoNationUSAStoresMember
Namespace Prefix:
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X

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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X

- Details

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