He probably means remanufactured starter. Aftermarket starters tend to be for racing/hi-perf applications.

Definitely stay away from the cheap chain store remans. Sure, they're warrantied for life, but who wants to swap it out every 18 months since it's poorly rebuilt. It's all about who rebuilt it, not really where you buy it.

News flash. Even dealers are very likely going to sell you a reman. I don't have an issue with using dealer parts for certain situations. The 4-wire O2 sensor for the Crown Vic was only 68 bucks.