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

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Long-Term Debt (Details Textual)

Long-Term Debt (Details Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended									9 Months Ended								9 Months Ended											9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended							9 Months Ended
Long-Term Debt (Details Textual) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2012 Agreement	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Agreement	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 9% Senior Subordinate Note due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 9% Senior Subordinate Note due 2018 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 5% Convertible Senior Note due 2029 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 5% Convertible Senior Note due 2029 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 5% Convertible Senior Note due 2029 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 5% Convertible Senior Note due 2029 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 5% Convertible Senior Note due 2029 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 7.0% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2022 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 7.0% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2022 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 5.0 % Convertible Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 5.0 % Convertible Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Other Debt [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Debt [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Subordinated Notes [Member]	Jul. 02, 2012 Senior Subordinated Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Mortgage Loan at Fix Interest Rate [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Loan at Fix Interest Rate [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Mortgage Loan at Variable Interest Rate [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Loan at Variable Interest Rate [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Mortgage Notes Payable [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Notes Payable [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Mortgage Notes [Member] Properties	Sep. 30, 2012 Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities [Member] Other Accrued Liabilities [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities [Member] Other Long-Term Liabilities [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] Mortgage Loan at Fix Interest Rate [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] Mortgage Loan at Variable Interest Rate [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] Mortgage Loan at Fix Interest Rate [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] Mortgage Loan at Variable Interest Rate [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Weighted Average [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 2011 Revolving Credit Facility [Member] Rate	Dec. 31, 2011 2011 Revolving Credit Facility [Member] Rate	Sep. 30, 2012 2011 Revolving Credit Facility [Member] Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 2011 Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 2011 Credit Facility [Member] Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 2011 Credit Facility [Member] Maximum [Member] Required Ratio [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 2011 Credit Facility [Member] Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 2011 Credit Facility [Member] Minimum [Member] Required Ratio [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Common Class A	Dec. 31, 2011 Common Class A	Sep. 30, 2012 Common Class A 5% Convertible Senior Note due 2029 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Common Class A 5.0 % Convertible Notes [Member]
Long-Term Debt (Textual) [Abstract]
Interest on notes	5.00%		5.00%			9.00%		5.00%		5.00%			7.00%		5.00%				7.00%												10.52%	7.03%		9.52%	4.29%		10.19%
Receive Rate			one-month LIBOR
Debt weighted average interest rate on note																											4.66%
Interest rate																																						2.00%	2.25%
Common stock, shares issued																																														61,191,866	56,377,778		4,074,905
Discount associated with notes						$ 1,100,000	$ 1,200,000						$ 1,700,000			$ 17,700,000									$ 800,000	$ 900,000
Debt Conversion, number of shares for weighted average pricing																																																30.2070
Total amount paid in cash on conversion of debt										137,100,000
Repurchase of Convertible notes								18,500,000		21,100,000
Amount charged to interest,expense and other	15,709,000	16,941,000	46,186,000	50,957,000						1,200,000
Final consideration for convertible notes			1,503.11
Premium associated with notes	800,000		800,000		1,200,000
Line of credit facility maximum borrowing capacity contingent increase																																						225,000,000		175,000,000
Percentage of fair market value of common stock to calculate available credit facility																																						50.00%
Number of common stock shares pledged as collateral																																						5,000,000
Borrowing base																																						165,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding amount																																						38,700,000
Borrowing available																																						126,300,000
EBTDAR to rent ratio																																										3.00	1.50	1.00	1.00
Unsecured senior subordinated obligations, description						9.0% Notes
Notes maturity date						Mar. 15, 2018													Jul. 15, 2022
Maturity date of 2011 Revolving credit facility and Floor plan facility																																									Aug. 15, 2016
Debt instrument date of required interest payments						semi-annually on March 15 and September 15 each year
Debt instrument earliest redemption date						after March 15, 2014
Indenture 9.0% notes						101.00%
Restrictive covenants						Sep. 30, 2012
Loss from repurchase of principle amount of 5.0% convertible notes										0
Total debt	611,179,000		611,179,000		547,619,000	210,000,000	210,000,000					155,055,000	200,000,000				5,513,000	5,752,000			124,132,000	116,584,000	63,082,000	65,640,000
Interest expense associated with amortization of debt discount and deferred loan costs								500,000	1,700,000	3,500,000	5,200,000
Interest expense related to Convertible Notes								500,000	2,100,000	4,200,000	6,400,000
Mortgage financing aggregate																											187,200,000
Mortgage financing related to dealership properties																											20
Maturity of secured mortgage notes																											between June 2013 and March 2031
Fair value of swap positions																												37,300,000	12,300,000	25,000,000
Notional forward	2		2
Interest rate cash flow swap agreements	100,000,000		100,000,000
Duration of Interest rate cash flow swap agreements			July 2015 and terminate in June 2017
Incremental interest expense	3,400,000	4,500,000	10,300,000	13,300,000
One-month LIBOR rate	0.214%		0.214%																														3.50%			1.25%
Net expense expected to be reclassified	7,600,000		7,600,000
Aggregate principal amount								1,000		1,000										200,000,000
Notes issued at a price of principal amount																			99.11%
Notes issued yield maturity, percentage								5.00%		5.00%										7.125%
Date of first required payment																			Jan. 15, 2013
Interest payable description																			Semi-annually in arrears on January 15 and July 15 of each year
Notes redeemed percentage of aggregate principal amount						35.00%													35.00%
Notes redemption price percentage of the par value																			107.00%
Notes redemption price percentage of the par value due to change of control																			101.00%
Debt instrument maximum allowed dividends per share						$ 0.10													$ 0.10
Outstanding principal amount of the 7.0% Notes			25.00%
Indebtedness with outstanding balance																			$ 35,000,000