Document and Entity Information - $ / shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jul. 28, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001031203
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		21,354,073
Common Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share	$ 0.01		$ 0.01