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Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) | 0 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended
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Oct. 02, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2014 Vehicle Franchise Dealerships Store Collision Brand State | Dec. 31, 2013 | Dec. 31, 2012
Description Of Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Number of dealerships |  | 118 sah_NumberOfDealershipsOperatedByEntity |  |
Number of states |  | 13 us-gaap_NumberOfStatesInWhichEntityOperates |  |
Number of different brands of cars and light trucks |  | 25 sah_NumberOfBrandsOfCarsAndLightTrucks |  |
Number of collision repair centers |  | 19 sah_NumberOfCollisionRepairCenters |  |
Number of stores |  | 100 us-gaap_NumberOfStores |  |
Percentage of dealership that is accounted for under the equity method |  | 50.00%sah_PercentageOfDealershipSubsidiariesAccountedAsEquityMethod |  |
Book overdraft position |  | $ 37,100,000 us-gaap_BankOverdrafts | $ 41,000,000 us-gaap_BankOverdrafts |
Revenue allowances for commission reserves |  | 15,400,000 us-gaap_ValuationAllowancesAndReservesBalance | 14,900,000 us-gaap_ValuationAllowancesAndReservesBalance |
Amount recognized for continue operation |  | 39,700,000 sah_FloorPlanAssistanceRecognizedContinuingOperations | 37,900,000 sah_FloorPlanAssistanceRecognizedContinuingOperations | 32,100,000 sah_FloorPlanAssistanceRecognizedContinuingOperations
Additional amount recognized for discontinued operation |  |  |  | 900,000 sah_FloorPlanAssistanceRecognizedDiscontinuingOperations
Term for funding of finance contracts |  | 10 days |  |
Contracts in transit receivables |  | 194,000,000 sah_ContractsInTransitReceivables | 190,000,000 sah_ContractsInTransitReceivables |
Goodwill impairment | 0 us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss | 0 us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss | 0 us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss | 0 us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss
Number of reporting units |  | 2 us-gaap_NumberOfReportingUnits |  |
Projected sales in units for next year |  | 16,500,000 sah_GoodwillValuationAssumptionProjectedSalesInUnit |  |
Goodwill |  | 475,929,000 us-gaap_Goodwill | 476,315,000 us-gaap_Goodwill | 454,224,000 us-gaap_Goodwill
Franchise asset impairment charge |  | 2,200,000 us-gaap_ImpairmentOfIntangibleAssetsIndefinitelivedExcludingGoodwill |  |
Insurance reserves |  | 23,900,000 us-gaap_SelfInsuranceReserve | 23,600,000 us-gaap_SelfInsuranceReserve |
Concentrations of credit risk with respect to receivables are limited primarily to automobile manufacturers |  | 90,100,000 sah_ConcentrationCreditRiskReceivables | 82,600,000 sah_ConcentrationCreditRiskReceivables |
Deposits |  | 57,500,000 us-gaap_DepositAssets | 65,000,000 us-gaap_DepositAssets |
Reduction in interest expense |  | 2,100,000 us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInInterestPayableNet | 1,000,000 us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInInterestPayableNet | 300,000 us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInInterestPayableNet
Total outstanding balance of financial instruments and market risks |  | 1,400,000,000 sah_FinancialInstrumentsOutstandingBalanceBeforeInterestRateSwaps | 1,300,000,000 sah_FinancialInstrumentsOutstandingBalanceBeforeInterestRateSwaps |
Advertising expense |  | 57,400,000 us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense | 56,600,000 us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense | 50,300,000 us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense
Cooperative manufacturer credits advertising expenses |  | 23,400,000 us-gaap_CooperativeAdvertisingAmount | 21,800,000 us-gaap_CooperativeAdvertisingAmount | 22,000,000 us-gaap_CooperativeAdvertisingAmount
Financial Institutions [Member] |  |  |  |
Description Of Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Concentrations of credit risk with respect to receivables are limited primarily to financial institutions |  | $ 215,400,000 sah_ConcentrationCreditRiskAmount / us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByTypeAxis = us-gaap_LenderConcentrationRiskMember | $ 210,300,000 sah_ConcentrationCreditRiskAmount / us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByTypeAxis = us-gaap_LenderConcentrationRiskMember |

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