Condensed Consolidating Financial Information of Guarantor Subsidiaries CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEETS (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 106	$ 36	$ 203	$ 169
Accounts receivable, net	793	464
Intercompany receivable (payable)	0	0
Inventory	68	44
Prepaid expenses and other assets	111	75
Deferred taxes	265	104
Total current assets	1,343	723
Rental equipment, net	4,966	2,617
Property and equipment, net	428	366
Investments in subsidiaries	0	0
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	4,170	372
Other long-term assets	119	65
Total assets	11,026	4,143
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt	630	395
Accounts payable	286	206
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	435	263
Total current liabilities	1,351	864
Long-term debt	6,679	2,592
Subordinated convertible debentures	55	55
Deferred taxes	1,302	470
Other long-term liabilities	65	59
Total liabilities	9,452	4,040
Temporary equity (note 12)	31	39
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	1,543	64
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	11,026	4,143
Parent Company [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable (payable)	168	114
Inventory	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other assets	0	0
Deferred taxes	0	0
Total current assets	168	114
Rental equipment, net	0	0
Property and equipment, net	41	41
Investments in subsidiaries	1,575	227
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	0	0
Other long-term assets	4	4
Total assets	1,788	386
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt	137	129
Accounts payable	0	0
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	1	31
Total current liabilities	138	160
Long-term debt	0	0
Subordinated convertible debentures	55	55
Deferred taxes	21	16
Other long-term liabilities	0	52
Total liabilities	214	283
Temporary equity (note 12)	31	39
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	1,543	64
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	1,788	386
URNA [Member]
Condensed Financial Information Other Details [Abstract]
Ownership Percentage In Subsidiaries	100.00%
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	20	6	4	5
Accounts receivable, net	43	19
Intercompany receivable (payable)	(108)	(876)
Inventory	60	21
Prepaid expenses and other assets	87	55
Deferred taxes	263	100
Total current assets	365	(675)
Rental equipment, net	4,357	1,345
Property and equipment, net	333	177
Investments in subsidiaries	1,029	2,144
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	3,804	130
Other long-term assets	115	60
Total assets	10,003	3,181
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt	40	8
Accounts payable	243	120
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	361	139
Total current liabilities	644	267
Long-term debt	6,522	2,444
Subordinated convertible debentures	0	0
Deferred taxes	1,199	241
Other long-term liabilities	63	2
Total liabilities	8,428	2,954
Temporary equity (note 12)	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	1,575	227
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	10,003	3,181
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Information Other Details [Abstract]
Ownership Percentage In Subsidiaries	100.00%
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	3
Accounts receivable, net	0	9
Intercompany receivable (payable)	(49)	772
Inventory	0	15
Prepaid expenses and other assets	10	1
Deferred taxes	0	3
Total current assets	(39)	800
Rental equipment, net	0	836
Property and equipment, net	16	120
Investments in subsidiaries	932	462
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	0	102
Other long-term assets	0	1
Total assets	909	2,321
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	0	47
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	33	48
Total current liabilities	33	95
Long-term debt	150	142
Subordinated convertible debentures	0	0
Deferred taxes	0	165
Other long-term liabilities	0	2
Total liabilities	183	404
Temporary equity (note 12)	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	726	1,917
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	909	2,321
Non Guarantor Subsidiaries Foreign [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	86	30	199	161
Accounts receivable, net	146	98
Intercompany receivable (payable)	(163)	(154)
Inventory	8	8
Prepaid expenses and other assets	14	19
Deferred taxes	2	1
Total current assets	93	2
Rental equipment, net	609	436
Property and equipment, net	38	28
Investments in subsidiaries	0	0
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	366	140
Other long-term assets	0	0
Total assets	1,106	606
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt	0	3
Accounts payable	43	39
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	40	45
Total current liabilities	83	87
Long-term debt	7	6
Subordinated convertible debentures	0	0
Deferred taxes	82	48
Other long-term liabilities	2	3
Total liabilities	174	144
Temporary equity (note 12)	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	932	462
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	1,106	606
Non Guarantor Subsidiaries SPV [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	604	338
Intercompany receivable (payable)	0	0
Inventory	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other assets	0	0
Deferred taxes	0	0
Total current assets	604	338
Rental equipment, net	0	0
Property and equipment, net	0	0
Investments in subsidiaries	0	0
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	0	0
Other long-term assets	0	0
Total assets	604	338
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt	453	255
Accounts payable	0	0
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	0	0
Total current liabilities	453	255
Long-term debt	0	0
Subordinated convertible debentures	0	0
Deferred taxes	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	453	255
Temporary equity (note 12)	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	151	83
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	604	338
Consolidation, Eliminations [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable (payable)	152	144
Inventory	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other assets	0	0
Deferred taxes	0	0
Total current assets	152	144
Rental equipment, net	0	0
Property and equipment, net	0	0
Investments in subsidiaries	(3,536)	(2,833)
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	0	0
Other long-term assets	0	0
Total assets	(3,384)	(2,689)
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	0	0
Total current liabilities	0	0
Long-term debt	0	0
Subordinated convertible debentures	0	0
Deferred taxes	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	0	0
Temporary equity (note 12)	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	(3,384)	(2,689)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$ (3,384)	$ (2,689)