It has been four years and I don't remember.
You do remember. You were not notified of the auction in advance.
Tell the collection agency you want to go to court and don't say anything else to them. Go search for "deficiency judgments on auto loans" and cite the portions that state you must be notified in advance of the auction. In court, tell the court you were not notified in advance of the auction, the action produced a sale of a $8500 vehicle for $1900. You doubt the legitimacy of that sale. You were not notified in advance of the sale and therefore were unable to supervise and/or participate in that auction.
Then you win, as you should.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-car-lender-collect-deficiency-after-repo.html#
The Creditor Did Not Provide Required Notices
A car loan creditor must provide you with various, timely written notices, as well as give you the opportunity to exercise certain rights. If a creditor fails to give you a required written notice, then you may be able to challenge its claim for a deficiency judgment. Those written notices include:
- your right to redeem the car and when you can do it
- your right to reinstate the loan (in some states) and when you can do it
- if the creditor is selling the car at a private sale, the date of the sale
- if the creditor is selling the car at an auction, the date, time, and location of the sale, and
- a calculation of the deficiency balance (or surplus, if applicable), including a description of fees and charges.
Even if a creditor provides you with the legally required written notices, if it prevents you from exercising your rights related to those notices (such as refusing to accept your payment to reinstate the loan, or
preventing you from participating in the auction), then you may still raise that as a defense and even a counterclaim for damages you sustained as a result of any violations.