XML 50 R39.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.19.2

Business Acquisitions and Dispositions - Additional Information (Details) $ in Thousands | 3 Months Ended | 6 Months Ended
--- | --- | ---
Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) Business | Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($) Business | Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) Business
Business Combinations [Abstract] |  |  |
Number of acquired franchises | Business |  | 0 |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |
Number of franchises disposed | Business |  | 3 | 4
Net cash generated from disposition | $ |  | $ 121,300 |
Proceeds from sales of dealerships | $ |  | $ 121,337 | $ 122,404
Luxury franchise |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |
Number of franchises terminated | Business | 1 |  | 2
Mid-line import franchise |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |
Net cash generated from disposition | $ | $ 122,400 |  |

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sah_NumberOfFranchisesDisposed
Namespace Prefix: | sah_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sah_NumberOfFranchisesTerminated
Namespace Prefix: | sah_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Proceeds From Dispositions Of Franchises + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | sah_ProceedsFromDispositionsOfFranchises
Namespace Prefix: | sah_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

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_BusinessAcquisitionLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_BusinessCombinationsAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The number of businesses acquired by the entity during the period. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_NumberOfBusinessesAcquired
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition This element represents the cash inflow during the period from the sale of a component of the entity. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118932676&loc=d3e3179-108585 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ProceedsFromDivestitureOfBusinessesNetOfCashDivested
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsAxis=sah_LuxuryFranchiseMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsAxis=sah_MidLineImportFranchiseMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |