FLOWER MOUND, Texas -- Sterling Biegert's first car is kind of a clunker. It has no air conditioning and no radio, and there's a large dent in the rear bumper.
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But to the Flower Mound teen, a huge fan of the widely popular " Twilight" vampire books and movie series, the Chevrolet pickup is a Hollywood star. Driven by one of the main characters, Bella Swan, the truck appears prominently in several scenes of the "Twilight" movie.
"If you ask any 'Twilight' fan, it's probably one of the biggest characters throughout the series," said the 17-year-old, who will be a senior at Willow Bend Academy in Lewisville.
The truck came as a birthday present after Sterling saw it advertised on eBay by a Lubbock dealer who had purchased the vehicle from a Los Angeles company that customizes cars for movies.
Sterling's parents declined to say how much they paid for the truck but said they purchased it with the understanding that their daughter would use it to help others.
Sterling said she plans to rent out the truck for parties and donate the money earned to charities such as CASA of Denton County, which provides assistance to abused and neglected children.
"I feel this is my way I can make a difference by using something I love and other people love to help other people," she said.
Along with confirmed prop numbers on the vehicle and a certificate of authenticity, Sterling can rattle off the details she has learned from the previous owners and the movie:
The truck, originally a bright red, was painted with rust to appear older. Only half of the truck's interior is painted to look old for close-up shots.
The dent above the left rear tire is from when Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, saves Bella, played by Kristen Stewart, from an accident in the school parking lot.
There are drilled holes where a camera was mounted and where handlebars were added so actors could stand in the moving vehicle.
The truck in the "Twilight" books is a 1953 Chevrolet, according to a Web site for the series' author, Stephenie Meyer. The vehicle in the "Twilight" movie passes for an early '60s model. Sterling said a second truck was used in the movie for long-distance shots.
The teen's "Twilight" collection doesn't end with the truck. She has other memorabilia, including a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses signed by Pattinson and autographed copies of the four " Twilight" books.
Sterling and her father, Doug Biegert, even took a trip to Forks, Wash., the setting for the story, and picked up souvenirs such as a visitor's pass from Forks High School and a keychain from the Forks Police Department.
"I don't just buy random things," Sterling said. "Each thing I have bought has a purpose to it because it will remind me of something special to me or one of my favorite parts in the book."< /p>
