Hello everyone. Im just looking for some advice.

I bought a car when i was 19. Im now 22 and my money situation has changed. i stuggled making my payment for awhile and my car got repoed. I actually got it back the same day but not to far down the line i couldnt afford it again. I surrenderd the car july 28. i got a notice in the mail saying they were going to sell it a few weeks later. A few weeks after that i got another notice saying they sold it for 3500 i think. Now they say i owe 8500 dollars after all the work they put into it,tow fees..ect. so that was 3 months ago.
I havent recieved a letter or anything since then. Until yesterday i got a phone call from the credit place saying i have to pay that 8,600 or there going to garnish my wages. I only work part time and barely make 600 a month. My husband was laid off in may and hasnt been able to find a job since. If they garnish my wages im not going to be able to survive. What im asking is, do i have to be served with paperwork before they can garnish my wages? Am i allowed to talk to the judge about my money situatuion. I literally will have no money. Im really confused about what to do. How long will this process take for all this to go through? I live in california and they said they would take 25%. Is they any way i can pay a certain amount every month? it wont be that much. Any help would be appreciated. im in need of it. thank you