They come with instructions, but mine is an older model, so it might not work the same. You might be better off upgrading the camera to the night vision one if your motion lights aren't very bright near the cars. You can use any kind of video recorder for these. I've used a VCR, my Hi8 camcorder and my old computer with an analogue video capture card. Your best bet would be to buy a cheap VCR and set it up in your house near the front so it's close enough to the motion detector that the VCR control is within receiving range.