Will a 3/4 double bass fit in my car?

[jazzyvee]

I've just bought a 3/4 double bass and have to drive to collect it at the weekend. Im now wondering whether it will fit in my car.  
I drive a 7 series BMW.
 
Any idea?
 
If not I may need to hire a vehicle for the day to collect it. Any idea of the smallest UK hatchback or estate car that will hold the bass?
 
Thanks in advance
 
Jazzyvee

[wfmandmusic]

I don't know about your BMW, but back in the day, I put mine in a 1974 Ford Pinto. I put the seats down and had the neck sticking out of the passenger side window.

[piotr_c]

If it's in a case i would go with some sort of monospace (renault espace or opel zafira kind of volume). You wouldn't want anything to happen to it on your first day...!
Congrats on the purchase.

[sonicus]

She must rest sideways on her hips. Not flat on the back or front. Watch out about jolting the bridge or the bottom of the fingerboard near the bridge, Watch out about sudden jolts that could move the sound post.  
Congratulations Jazzyvee!

[nnek]

I have several uprights and move them regularly to gigs in a 300E benz and a 5 series BMW. recline the passenger front seat and put her in head first through the passenger door to rest on her side with the bridge facing the center of the car. Adjust the back of the seat to get just the right height to clear the back seat and put the seat belt over the end pin and cinch her down. Fits like a charm!

[hammer]

I've learned two things from this post: (1) how to get a 3/4 double bass into a car and; (2) that at least some of you guys drive a lot nicer vehicles than I'll ever be able to afford.  No offense Ken, but I hope you're driving something better than that 1974 Ford Pinto today.

[rustyg61]

I had a '74 Pinto in high school, I paid $250 for the car & put a $650 stereo in it! It didn't matter what the car looked like as long as the music sounded great!

[bigredbass]

I once carried a Peavey 215 cab in a VW Beetle Convertible.  How?
 
1.  Put the top down, snap on the cover.
2.  Stand the 215 upright on the back bumper,  
    grille-cloth facing you.
3.  Heave it up on top of the collapsed top.
4.  Slide it down into the back seat.
5.  Go home.
 
To unload, reverse steps 4 thru 1.
 
J o e y

[darkstar01]

I bought a 3/4 bass (on the larger side) from a luthier/showroom in Connecticut that swore they could fit every bass they sold in the boss's mini cooper. Sounds like quite the endeavor to me.
 
Edit: definitely shouldnt have a problem fitting a bass in a 7 series, imo.  
 
(Message edited by darkstar01 on August 15, 2012)

[cozmik_cowboy]

I can beat that, Joey - 3 adults (2 of us 5'11), a Martin D-28, a mandolin, and a case and a half of imported beer in a Triumph Spitfire (with the top up!)
Brian, buy used.  That's how I can (almost) afford my S-80.
JV, my beer glass is banging!  (We will, of course, need shots both in & out of the car.)
 
Peter

[pauldo]

I drive a 1993 Jeep Wrangler - if it is warm enough for the top to be down - no problem. Otherwise I can remove 4 bolts, take the passenger seat out and have the bass fit in diagonally.  
Both methods use adequate padding and bolstering to keep the bass on it's side (as mentioned above it is the safest position for the instrument).

[hammer]

When I played an upright in college, I drove a Datsun 1200 (the predecessor to the Datsun B210).  There was no way an upright was going to fit in to that car.
 
Luckily, I skied for the college cross country ski team and volunteered to have the ski box used to haul skis to and from practices mounted on the top of my car.
 
Lined with a few down sleeping bags (and hot water bottles in the winter) my bass had a snug and cozy transport to gigs.  
 
The biggest issues that I faced given that the car was often running on only 3 of its 4 cylinders was getting up hills when I had other band members with me.

[tncaveman]

Hey Hammer - my Dad and Brother both had 1200's = what a cool car.  way a head of their time,
 
 
I had a CVCC Honda Accord (vintage 1978) and could get a SVT cab in it    -----   Those were the days  -----   sorry for the hijack
 
Stephen

[hammer]

I'll also apologize for continuing the hijack (promise not to do it again). The most interesting thing about my Datsun 1200 was that most of the time it was running on only 3 of its 4 cylinders.  But it got great gas mileage for the time.  My junior year in college I found myself up in Canada skiing at Mount St. Anne with a friend.  Well, we spent a little too much $$$ on beer and with no credit cards, had just enough money to fill the tank with gas and see how far it would get us. Like idiots we drafted semi-trailers for 450 miles and got within 5-6 miles of our college in Connecticut before we ran out of gas.  
 
The car was light enough to get blown over a lane whenever it was passed on the highway by anything bigger than a VW van.  Then again, that came in handy because when the key broke off in the ignition that winter, I was able to park it on the flats or downhills and get it rolling fast enough to start it by popping the clutch. And the best thing was the car was the ugliest lime green you ever would see.

[jazzyvee]

Yep it fits my car comfortably on the passenger side with the front seat fully reclined.  
 
Now the learning starts. All tips welcome. It has something called weed wicker strings on. Which are like rubbery nylon  and so i was told has a  Kevlar core.
Plus he gave me s set of normal steel strings.  
 
Jazzyvee