I'm new here, any way my Nissan maxima 02 SE is bouncing on the front drivers side. first of what does my car have shocks or struts or both and what is likely to be the problem thank you.

 

Your car has struts on all wheels, both front and back.

Your either has a very worn out strut, or a blown strut or a broken strut. If you have 100K miles, they should be replaced anyway.

 

so which are the best struts should i get for the vehicle

 

Depends on what kind of ride you want. If you want a soft factory type ride, get Monroe.
If you want a firmer ride for better handling, get KYB Excel-G

 

Tokico HP struts are the closest to OEM without paying dealer prices.

 

Kyb gr2

 

I don't think they make the G2R any more.

 

I didn't think they felt anything like stock. I had them on my 03 and I noticed they are softer especially the rears. I ended up selling them to a org member and brought some new OEM from courtesy Nissan. I like the stiffer ride on the OEM shocks. The Tokico will make your car ride more comfortable though

 

For the SE model, the KYB/Excel (a successor to KYB/GR2) is an excellent choice. I installed them on my 2000 SE few months ago and I am very happy.

You can get them from RockAuto.com for about $65-75. Good luck!

 

I bought KYB from amazon.
Great price and they made my car feel like new.
Very firm. Absorbs every bump like a champ.

I payed $280 back in November, but it looks like it went up to $310