Consolidated Statements of Income Statement - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 2,626,323	$ 3,248,173	$ 5,627,258	$ 6,348,476
Cost of goods sold	1,615,319	2,000,986	3,402,378	3,893,025
Gross margin	1,011,004	1,247,187	2,224,880	2,455,451
Selling, general and administrative expenses	737,369	898,368	1,637,180	1,794,900
Restructuring and acquisition related expenses	24,950	8,377	31,920	11,684
Loss on disposal of businesses and impairment of net assets held for sale	2,485	33,497	2,236	48,520
Depreciation and amortization	65,747	70,834	131,242	141,836
Operating income	180,453	236,111	422,302	458,511
Other expense (income):
Interest expense, net of interest income	25,616	35,884	51,547	71,973
Loss on debt extinguishment	0	0	12,751	0
Other income, net	(8,174)	(5,733)	(11,796)	(9,584)
Total other expense, net	17,442	30,151	52,502	62,389
Income from continuing operations before provision for income taxes	163,011	205,960	369,800	396,122
Provision for income taxes	41,869	55,825	102,280	107,375
Equity in (losses) earnings of unconsolidated subsidiaries	(2,649)	1,572	(2,133)	(37,977)
Income from continuing operations	118,493	151,707	265,387	250,770
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	277	398	(638)	398
Net income	118,770	152,105	264,749	251,168
Less: net (loss) income attributable to continuing noncontrolling interest	(22)	1,352	718	2,367
Less: net income attributable to discontinued noncontrolling interest	0	192	103	192
Net income attributable to LKQ stockholders	$ 118,792	$ 150,561	$ 263,928	$ 248,609
Basic earnings per share: (1)
Income from continuing operations	$ 0.39	$ 0.49	$ 0.87	$ 0.80
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	0.00	0.00	(0.00)	0.00
Net income	0.39	0.49	0.87	0.80
Less: net (loss) income attributable to continuing noncontrolling interest	(0.00)	0.00	0.00	0.01
Less: net income attributable to discontinued noncontrolling interest	0	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net income attributable to LKQ stockholders	0.39	0.48	0.86	0.79
Diluted earnings per share: (1)
Income from continuing operations	0.39	0.49	0.87	0.80
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	0.00	0.00	(0.00)	0.00
Net income	0.39	0.49	0.87	0.80
Less: net (loss) income attributable to continuing noncontrolling interest	(0.00)	0.00	0.00	0.01
Less: net income attributable to discontinued noncontrolling interest	0	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net income attributable to LKQ stockholders	$ 0.39	$ 0.48	$ 0.86	$ 0.79