Sonic Automotive, Inc. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Cover
- Document and Entity Information
Financial Statements
Notes to Financial Statements
Accounting Policies
- Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
Notes Tables
Notes Details

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail)

v3.8.0.1

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Effective tax rate from continuing operations	41.70%	39.30%	41.00%	39.30%
Income tax benefit	$ (14,126)	$ (12,281)	$ (22,254)	$ (36,565)
Income tax expense, non-deductible asset impairment charge	$ 400		400
ASU 2016-09 [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Income tax benefit			$ 500
Minimum [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Expected effective tax rate for continuing operations Range			38.00%
Maximum [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Expected effective tax rate for continuing operations Range			40.00%
Dealership [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of dealership that is accounted for under the equity method	50.00%		50.00%		50.00%

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Percentage of current income tax expense (benefit) and deferred income tax expense (benefit) pertaining to continuing operations.

+ References

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Amount of the difference between reported income tax expense (benefit) and expected income tax expense (benefit) computed by applying the domestic federal statutory income tax rates to pretax income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to nondeductible impairment loss.

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