Prices for used VW vehicles are falling in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal.

The scandal swirling around Volkswagen’s diesel engines is having a direct impact on consumers, according to several new reports. Many are trying to sell off their VW vehicles, or exit a lease, but are finding they’ll get less money than they expected. On the other hand, those willing to buy or re-lease one of the tainted products could be in for a bargain.

The situation shows no signs of abating for Volkswagen itself. The company has admitted it installed software in 11 million vehicles sold worldwide to cheat during government emissions tests. VW now says it is examining whether “other generations” of its diesels may be impacted, something U.S. regulators are looking into, as well.

The number of lawsuits targeting VW has continued to rise, on top of criminal investigations now underway in the U.S., Germany and elsewhere. Some of the civil suits are seeking to force Volkswagen to buy back suspect diesel vehicles, 482,000 of which were sold in the United States over the last seven model-years.

(The public relations hits for VW keep coming. Click Here for more.)

A newly released analysis by used car sales site Autotrader finds that the average list price for VW vehicles overall has dropped by $271, or more than 1%, since the diesel scandal broke a little more than a month ago. That jumps  to 4% for the VW Beetle and Jetta diesel models, or $1,110 and $797 respectively. By comparison, Autotrader found that the overall price of used diesel vehicles rose about $227, while the average listing price for vehicles on the site was flat.

“When you consider the fact that there are more than 100,000 VW vehicles for sale on Autotrader right now, a price shift of this magnitude in just over a month is significant,” said Autotrader Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs. “It demonstrates the uphill battle the brand faces to regain the trust of consumers, and the challenge this presents for dealers.”

VW is offering attractive leasing on many new models to try to rebuild demand.

The findings aren’t unique to AutoTrader. The number of motorists looking to get out of a lease of a VW vehicle jumped 20% from September to October, according to Swapalease.com, a site for those looking for an early exit from a lease. But the actual number of transfers has fallen 50% this month, meaning few shoppers are interested, even at a lower price.

“I think these numbers definitely indicate that the Volkswagen brand has had a negative impact on a fair amount of the lease population in just a short amount of time,” said Scot Hall, Executive Vice President of Swapalease.com. “While it’s still early in the process, this tells us that a growing segment of the Volkswagen lease population no longer feels confident enough about the brand to complete the remainder of their lease contract and would be more comfortable driving a different vehicle.”

Companion site Wantalease.com reports that Volkswagen has aggressively increased the number of low-priced leases it is offering, a typical move at a time when demand for a brand’s new vehicles has fallen off. These include leases starting at $139 a month for a VW Jetta, and $179 for a Passat – “among the lowest-priced” leases currently on the market, Wantalease notes.

(Germany orders first recall of VW diesels. For more, Click Here.)

If the current trend holds, that could buoy the claims made in numerous lawsuits against VW. Many aim at recovering any financial losses owners and lessees might experience, a strategy that has been used against other makers including Toyota and General Motors in the recent past.

But some of the suits aim to go even further. The Seattle-based class action firm Hagens Berman, for one, is attempting to force VW to buy back the affected diesel models, arguing that they were sold under false pretenses and can’t meet the manufacturer’s claim of low emissions, high mileage and good performance.

Legal experts tell TheDetroitBureau.com such a legal strategy will be difficult to pursue, but they say it is not without successful precedent.

VW has set up a special website, VWDieselInfo.com, to keep U.S. owners updated on the situation. Among other things, the site will let them check if their vehicle is one of those affected by the emissions cheating, and it will update owners on the eventual recall repair program.

Meanwhile, VW has acknowledged that “other generations of (diesel engines) are being examined” to ensure the use of illicit software code, dubbed a “defeat device” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” isn’t more widespread than first believed. That could impact both newer and older models.

The scandal is expected to cost Volkswagen billions of dollars in fines, legal settlements and lost sales, the maker itself so far setting aside $7.3 billion. But there’s also been a human toll. At least five senior executives have either been forced out or suspended, including long-time VW CEO Martin Winterkorn. The latest known to have been targeted is Frank Tuch, who became the maker’s quality chief in 2010.

VW’s internal investigation into the diesel cheating scheme is widely expected to see still more ousters before it is completed, even though the company’s U.S. CEO Michael Horn told a Congressional committee earlier this month he was convinced the scheme was the work of just “a couple of software engineers.” Lawmakers balked at that idea, at least one, New York Republican Chris Collins contending it was really the result of a “massive cover-up.”

(To see more about VW’s plans for its diesel program, Click Here.)