XML 46 R34.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.21.1

Interim Financial Statements (Business and Basis of Presentation) (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2021 franchises store 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)	90.00%
Dealerships [Member]
Product Information [Line Items]
Number of stores	230
Collision Centers [Member]
Product Information [Line Items]
Number of stores	73
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

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

- 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

Name:	us-gaap_ProductInformationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	srt_ConsolidatedEntitiesAxis=an_DealershipsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_ConsolidatedEntitiesAxis=an_CollisionCenterMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_ConsolidatedEntitiesAxis=an_AutoNationUSAStoresMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_ConsolidatedEntitiesAxis=an_AutomotiveAuctionOperationsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_ConsolidatedEntitiesAxis=an_PartsDistributionCenterMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: