Hi! we are a couple of friends from Argentina, traveling to meet the Grand Canyon and the West coast. We arrive at Miami, and the idea is to fly to Phoenix, rent a car, drive to the grand canyon, then Los Angeles and up.
We have tons of questions so any advice is very welcome! Mainly:
1) is phoenix the best location to fly to?
2) how long our stay on the GC should be? For now, we booked 4 days, 5 nights.
3) it is OK to go with a car? we are unsure about this, if there will be snow, etc, etc
4) I was told to take a look at the hoover dam, sedona, the famous route 66... I just don't know in what order 
Please, any advice is very welcome!
From Argentina to Grand Canyon to LA!
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It might make more sense to fly into Las Vegas. Then you could drive towards the Grand Canyon, stopping for a bit at either Zion National Park or Bryce Canyon - then onto the Grand Canyon. I think 2 nights is plenty for the Grand Canyon and this would allow you time to stop at one of the other national parks I just mentioned. The Hoover Dam is along that route as well.
Then you could continue your trip towards Los Angeles.
Weather depends on the season. In July/August it can be quite hot and in Jan/Feb there could be snow. The only reasonable way to do this trip is by renting a car. The roads are fine and you should have no problem.
(My daughter spent 6 months studying in Buenos Aires, traveled a bit thru your country and loved it)
If you are continuing on to LA, flying to Phoenix is fine. It is about an hour closer to the Grand Canyon.
If you are going in the summer, split your time between the south rim and the north rim. Otherwise if the north rim is closed, you probably have too much time there.
You can continue on the loop through Zion and down to Las Vegas on the way to Los Angeles, if you want.
1) Phoenix is usually more expensive than Las Vegas for flights and car rentals. Phoenix is an hour closer but that shouldn't be real important for a trip of your duration.
2) 5 nights at the Grand Canyon is far too much. 1or 2 nights is appropriate depending on how much hiking you will do. Use the rest of your time to either explore Sedona or Zion and Bryce.
3) It is ok to drive this route but whether there will be snow depends on what month you are going.
4) The order depends on which airport you fly into. Phoenix - Grand Canyon - Sedona - Route 66 - Hoover Dam. Las Vegas - Hoover Dam - Route 66 - Sedona - Grand Canyon. You can switch Grand Canyon and Sedona on
either route.
We have flown into both for visiting Grand Canyonnand much prefer Las Vegas. Flights are generally cheaper, and rental cars are MUCH cheaper. It is only about 30 minutes more to drive unless you stop at Hoover Dam ( which is well worth it).
You also need to consider drop fees for a one-way rental,,particularly going to California. I suggest youlookmat renting the car at Las Vegas,mdoingnanloop ( including Zion which I would take over Sedona) and then return the car there. Moly for Las Vegas to LA and pick up a new car for your Cslifornia trip.
I agree with Enzian. One problem with picking up a rental car in one state and dropping it off in California is that the emission rules for cars in California are MUCH more strict than those outside of that state. Thus, a car that would be legal to rent outside of California may not be legal to rent in that state. Thus, rental companies REALLY hate to have a car rented outside of California but end up there, as they would either need to (1) pay an employee to drive the car outside of California or (2) rent a "California car" in the first place. Cars that meet California emission standards cost more, so (again) the rental companies don't like to have any outside of that state.
Enzian has the best idea on how to handle this -- rent in Vegas, do a loop, return in Vegas, get to L.A. on mass transit, rent a second car in L.A., do another loop, and return in L.A.
Hint: kazillions of Californians travel into Vegas on Friday and then return on Sunday or Monday. If you arrange to return the car early on Friday, you'll ride an almost empty bus into L.A. Try this on Sunday and you'll be surrounded by people in a bad mood over all the money they lost during the weekend.