"The motor is not good."

Translation: El motor no es bueno.

[NicoleCiri5]

Could you say "el motor no esta bueno" or "el motor no es bien"?

[AmineHadji1]

I don't see any problem with no está bueno, but no es bien is impossible for grammatical reason. bien = well is an adverb and cannot go after es (the verb ser). You can say El motor no está bien, but it means The motor is not fine ≃ The motor doesn't feel well

[Tom918530]

I agree, this completely depends on context.

[TPOinNC]

I've been told that ser generally refers to static state... soy un gringo, soy blanco. Estar can be used for condition to refer to temporary, unusual, scenarios. Yo fui a la playa, estoy rojo. Happily i think whoever you were talking to about this motor would know what you meant but a little context would help if Duo wants you to go a specific route.

[Fabs520899]

Shouldnt this be estar not ser?

[Bishop6]

Could be either, depending on the meaning you want.

"El motor no es bueno" could mean something like, "This motor is not good; that model of motor always has issues and I never recommend it."

"El motor no está bueno" would mean this particular* motor is broken, for example.