Segment Information (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Segment Information (Details) [Abstract]
Number of retail installment sales stores	43		43
Number of rent-to-own stores in Canada	18		18
Number of rent-to-own stores in Mexico	150		150
Franchising's royalty fee percentage, minimum			2.00%
Franchising's royalty fee percentage, maximum			6.00%
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 754,780	$ 739,314	$ 2,334,572	$ 2,324,266
Gross profit	529,332	519,341	1,610,630	1,606,731
Operating profit	56,532	68,113	213,252	239,174
Depreciation of property assets	19,421	18,412	56,654	54,744
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	639	2,447	2,694	5,263
Capital expenditures	28,940	24,783	73,761	73,103
Rental merchandise on rent, net	854,580		854,580		821,887
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	217,388		217,388		198,917
Assets	2,937,310		2,937,310		2,869,105
Core U.S. [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	608,333	634,575	1,897,586	2,016,761
Gross profit	442,971	460,353	1,365,980	1,444,824
Operating profit	44,943	69,544	179,608	244,215
Depreciation of property assets	16,401	15,981	48,319	47,689
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	497	583	2,267	1,606
Capital expenditures	22,340	22,056	57,537	59,089
Rental merchandise on rent, net	574,871		574,871		597,771
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	205,674		205,674		189,526
Assets	2,513,251		2,513,251		2,508,370
RAC Acceptance [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	123,798	83,838	368,454	248,626
Gross profit	74,083	49,737	209,960	137,524
Operating profit	18,855	7,259	52,384	17,024
Depreciation of property assets	1,323	936	3,574	2,620
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	142	897	427	2,690
Capital expenditures	2,819	1,191	7,021	3,582
Rental merchandise on rent, net	261,967		261,967		209,964
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	3,579		3,579		2,979
Assets	351,407		351,407		292,070
International [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	14,968	10,871	41,398	27,480
Gross profit	10,739	7,516	29,628	19,125
Operating profit	(7,665)	(9,046)	(20,384)	(23,617)
Depreciation of property assets	1,677	1,475	4,701	4,366
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	0	967	0	967
Capital expenditures	3,781	1,536	9,203	10,432
Rental merchandise on rent, net	17,742		17,742		14,152
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	8,135		8,135		6,412
Assets	71,443		71,443		65,954
Franchising [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	7,681	10,030	27,134	31,399
Gross profit	1,539	1,735	5,062	5,258
Operating profit	399	356	1,644	1,552
Depreciation of property assets	20	20	60	69
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Capital expenditures	0	0	0	0
Rental merchandise on rent, net	0		0		0
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	0		0		0
Assets	$ 1,209		$ 1,209		$ 2,711