diff --git a/tools/checkout_aosp.py b/tools/checkout_aosp.py
index d7208ab..a62e641 100755
--- a/tools/checkout_aosp.py
+++ b/tools/checkout_aosp.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 import sys
 
 import utils
+import utils_aosp
 
 AOSP_MANIFEST_XML = join(utils.REPO_ROOT, 'third_party',
   'aosp_manifest.xml')
@@ -33,10 +34,7 @@
 def parse_arguments():
   parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
       description = 'Checkout the AOSP source tree.')
-  parser.add_argument('--aosp-root',
-                      help='Root of the AOSP checkout. ' +
-                           'Defaults to current working directory.',
-                      default=os.getcwd())
+  utils_aosp.add_root_argument(parser)
   parser.add_argument('--manifest',
                       help='Manifest to use for the checkout. ' +
                            'Defaults to ' + AOSP_MANIFEST_XML + '.',
diff --git a/tools/utils_aosp.py b/tools/utils_aosp.py
index 8f20c2f..3e2a715 100644
--- a/tools/utils_aosp.py
+++ b/tools/utils_aosp.py
@@ -17,11 +17,14 @@
 
 DEFAULT_ROOT = join(utils.REPO_ROOT, 'build', 'aosp')
 
-def add_common_arguments(parser):
+def add_root_argument(parser):
   parser.add_argument('--aosp-root',
       help='Root of the AOSP checkout. ' +
            'Defaults to ' +  DEFAULT_ROOT +'.',
       default=DEFAULT_ROOT)
+
+def add_common_arguments(parser):
+  add_root_argument(parser)
   parser.add_argument('--lunch',
       help='Build menu. ' +
            'Defaults to ' + DEFAULT_LUNCH + '.',