In the following question, a sentence is given in direct speech. Select the option that best expresses the same sentence in indirect (reported) speech. My neighbours said, "We will not be driving this car anymore as it has become unreliable."

Introduction / Context:
In this item, the speakers express a decision about a habitual future action related to a car. The sentence has a future continuous form "will not be driving" and a present perfect form "has become unreliable". When we report this speech later, we must adjust both the future form and the perfect tense, and we must also change the demonstrative "this" that refers to the car near the speaker.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Reporting verb: "said" in simple past.
• Direct sentence: "We will not be driving this car anymore as it has become unreliable."
• Pronoun "we" refers to "they" from the narrator position.
• Verb phrase: "will not be driving" (future continuous) expresses a continued future decision.
• Second clause: "has become unreliable" (present perfect) gives the reason.
• Demonstrative "this car" refers to a car near the speakers and becomes "that car" in reported speech.

Concept / Approach:
With a past reporting verb, simple future forms with "will" generally change to "would". A future continuous form "will be driving" changes to "would be driving". Present perfect "has become" normally changes to past perfect "had become". The demonstrative "this" changes to "that", especially when the object is no longer near the reporter. The adverb "anymore" remains unchanged because it refers to future time relative to the original plan, which becomes future in the past in reported form.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Begin with "My neighbours said that" to form the reporting clause. Step 2: Change "we" to "they" to reflect third person reference. Step 3: Convert "will not be driving" to "would not be driving" to show future continuous in the past. Step 4: Replace "this car" with "that car" for correct demonstrative use in indirect speech. Step 5: Change "has become unreliable" to "had become unreliable" to backshift the present perfect to past perfect. Step 6: Combine all parts to obtain "My neighbours said that they would not be driving that car anymore as it had become unreliable."

Verification / Alternative check:
Check that the sense of a future decision is preserved. The neighbours are still talking about not using the car in future, but from the reporter viewpoint, this plan is expressed as a future in the past with "would not be driving". The reason that the car had already become unreliable also remains clear through the use of past perfect. The change from "this car" to "that car" correctly reflects indirect reference. No information has been lost or altered.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B keeps "will not be driving" and "has become", which ignores the rule of backshifting after a past reporting verb. Option C changes the aspect by using "would not drive" instead of "would not be driving", which reduces the sense of continuing usual use and does not mirror the original continuous form. Option D repeats the same problem as option B, keeping "will" and "has become" and also keeping "this car", which is not appropriate in indirect speech from a different location or time.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners often focus on tense changes but forget about demonstratives such as "this" and "that". Another pitfall is to ignore the difference between simple future and future continuous. Exam setters sometimes include distractors that remove the continuous aspect or leave auxiliary verbs unchanged. To avoid mistakes, always list the parts that must change: pronouns, tense, time or place words, and demonstratives. Then apply the rules one by one before choosing the final option.

Final Answer:
The correct reported sentence is My neighbours said that they would not be driving that car anymore as it had become unreliable.